Biting My Tongue
by EmpressGalaxia
Summary: Rated for language. Meryl and Vash reunite after his time as Ericks. WAFF.


Biting My Tongue

A Fanfic by EmpressGalaxia

My boyfriend kinda looks like Brad Crawford from Weiß Kreuz. That's the closest I'll ever get to owning an anime character.

Ficlet supposed to come out in time for Valentine's Day. :: Hops in time machine to make all right with world :: Thanks to all the ficmuse ladies for humour, love, smut, and quotes to fill quote book. Enjoy fic.

She handed him a cloth and sat down beside him. The sneaking footsteps in the distance were Milly's. Meryl wondered how her friend could seem to know so little when she really knew too much.

Vash took the cloth from her and held it to his bruised face. His pain didn't seem so bad when she sat next to him. When Milly snuck away, he wondered how she knew how he felt about Meryl.

__

God, I've missed you.

"Long time no see."

_God, I've missed you._

"Yeah."

_Of all the times for you to see me again, I look like this. Great._

"What brings you back on my trail?"

_I'd have stayed on your damn trail if they hadn't called me back. If you hadn't disappeared._

"Bernardelli sent us out again."

_I care about you too much to let you get hurt._

"Don't they know how dangerous it is for you to follow me?"

_Don't you know I don't care?_

"You don't have to worry about us, Vash. We can take care of ourselves."

_I am so happy to see you, but..._

"You should go home."

_Don't you dare tell me that. Don't you know how far I would go to follow you, job or not?_

"What, and lose my job? No way, buddy. I'm here to keep you out of trouble."

Quiet.

_You really look just like I remember you._

"So, still waiting for that growth spurt?"

_How many times has this happened to you, Vash? How many more scars do you have? _

"Still renting yourself out as a punching bag?"

_That's my girl. I've missed someone to verbally kick my ass every now and then._

"Touché."

_Letting me win an argument already? You've gotten soft._

"Thank you."

_I really have missed you._

"What have you been doing?"

_Washing my hair, waiting for you to call, you asshole. What do you _think_ I did for two years?_

"Going to work, keeping Milly out of trouble, trying to pick up my social life where it left off."

_Oh. Right. You probably forgot about me._

"Sounds like you had a lot of fun."

_Not as much fun as I had out here with you, you crazy idiot._

"Fun can be overrated. What did you do? It seems odd that the Humanoid Typhoon could disappear for two years. I mean, we thought you were..."

_That was kind of the point. If I were dead, you wouldn't try to follow me._

"I hid myself well, I guess."

_Yeah, you did._

"You couldn't have told us where you were? You couldn't have written, you couldn't have called, you couldn't have let us know at all?"

_I can't keep doing this, Meryl. You can't keep finding me. One of these days, I'm going to be selfish and stay with you. And then you'll be in danger because of me._

"Trust me that I had my reasons for that."

_Isn't that all I do? Trust you? Trust that you're alive? Trust that you have your "reasons"? Trust that you know what you're doing against this person you're hunting down? Trust that you'll get us out of whatever dire situation you land us in?_

"Sometimes I think I trust you too much, Vash."

"Then trust me on this."

"I can't."

"Why can't you? Why can't you understand me when I tell you that you should leave me alone? I am the cause of pain and suffering and harm to everyone I care about."

"Heh. Then I should probably be safe, right?"

He winced and looked at her with pained eyes that said more than he could with words.

"Oh."

Too many thoughts ran through their minds for anyone to ever record. Ending the silence, she stood and brushed sand off of her.

_I leave you alone, and this happens. You need me around to take care of you, you lug._

"C'mon, let's get you back to the hotel. You need rest."

_I need you around to take care of me, insurance girl._

"Yeah. Rest is good."

Meryl held out a hand to help him up. Vash hesitated before taking it.

_I can't stand to keep leaving you._

"You know I might not be there tomorrow morning."

_Then you know I'll follow you when you leave._

"You're really starting to piss me off with your nomad lifestyle."

_I love you._

"You're gonna drive me crazy, insurance girl."

_I love you._

"I think you already have driven me crazy, you maniac."


End file.
